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I am 37, single and have dated every type of man there is. And also, I am an entrepreneur.

This is my dating life in six words: Excitement. Fear. Success. Disappointment.
Regret. Acceptance.

This is my entrepreneurial life in six words: Excitement. Fear. Success.
Disappointment. Regret. Acceptance.

My dating life and entrepreneurial life aren’t that different. They have so much in
common that one morning I woke up with one of those Oprah “aha” moments. I
realised that the ups and downs I was feeling as I journeyed through all the stages of
being a business owner were almost identical to the ups and downs of a
relationship. Here are a few examples:

Dating: We went out on a few dates. I thought things were going great. Then, he
ghosted me.

Entrepreneurship: I met an angel investor at a networking event. We exchanged a
few e-mails. Then, he ghosted me.

Dating: I’ve been on Bumble for like six months. I swipe, date, repeat. Swipe, date,
repeat. It feels like I’m never going to actually meet someone so I can stop swiping.

Entrepreneurship: I’ve applied to 20 accelerators and incubators. Apply, get denied,
repeat. Apply, get denied, repeat. It feels like I’m never going to actually get into one
of these things so I can stop filling out applications.

Dating: For the first three months things were great with this guy I was dating, then
he turned into the devil.

Entrepreneurship: For the first three months things were great with this new
developer I hired, then he turned into the devil.

Dating and entrepreneurship … not that different. They both can be an emotional
roller coaster, frustrating and uncomfortable in the beginning. But they can also be
rewarding, fun and full of excitement.

This might sound strange, but getting your heart broken is like winning the lottery when it comes to being a business owner. If like me, you’ve had a few unpleasant romantic relationships, then lucky you because you have all the skills and experience you need to be an entrepreneur. Be thankful for that idiot who didn’t see your value and that serial cheater who broke your heart. They prepared you to start your business, grow your business and even walk away when you need to.

Business Daily

There are days I want to hop out of bed and sprint to my computer so I can get to
work on my business as quick as possible. And there are days I want to hide under
the covers hoping I can just pretend this particular day doesn’t exist. And then there
are all those days in between. Regardless of the type of day I’m having — whatever
good or bad may come my way — I know how to cope and I know how to deal
because if I survived the mess that was my dating life I can surely survive anything
the entrepreneurial life can throw at me!

On April 3, 2019 Mr Martin Wanjohi Mwai came across an advertisement by Rising Sun Auctioneers – that it was planning to auction a Toyota Belta car registration number KBW 770E.

In the advert, there were three instructions that were issued and anyone willing to participate in the auction was required to follow.

First, all interested bidders were requested to view and verify all the details of the car before purchase.

Secondly, all bidders were to pay Sh50,000 deposit which was to be paid in cash.

The third rule, which complicated matters for Mwai, was that the purchaser must deposit 25 percent of the purchase price at the fall of the hammer and balance to be paid by close of business the same day, failure to which the money received, including deposit, would be forfeited.

Mr Mwai said that when he went to Excellence and Interginfy Service, where the auction was to take place, it turned out that he was the only one who was willing to purchase the car.

CASH PAYMENT

By 2pm the same day, it was only him and the auctioneer, Ms Lonny Wambui, who were on the site.

“I was told the car’s selling price was Sh430,000 and asked to pay Sh50,000 as deposit. I was further instructed to pay the balance of Sh380,000 in an in account number 784/250011 Rose Wood capital Limited in the Commercial Bank of Africa,” Mwai’s petition to the Auctioneers Licensing Board reads in part.

Mr Mwai said that a few hours after he paid Sh50,000 in cash, Ms Wambui sent him a message informing him that someone else had paid the whole amount and that the car was taken.

He then demanded for his money but he was informed that it had been forfeited for failure to pay for the car, yet no public auction took place nor any notification given to him.

FALSE PRETENSE

“I read mischief because there was no other bidder who had shown interest in purchasing the car so who is the other buyer who bought it?” posed Mr Mwai.

He reported the matter at Kiambu Police Station under the OB number: 40/06/04/2019.

Through his lawyers, Njoroge Mwaura and Company, Mwai has accused the company of “obtaining money from him by false pretense.”

“We do hereby demand Sh50,000 together with our collection fee of Sh5,000 to be paid in total,” reads part of a letter by the company.

However, the company through Gatumuta and Company Advocates said that Mr Mwai was the highest bidder but he failed to pay the deposit of 25 percent at the fall of the hammer and that he never met the given conditions.

“Our client owes no money to your client and no criminal element is involved and your client’s allegation to obtain by false pretense does not exist,” reads their letter in part.

Working in a mortuary is one of the jobs that does not feature on the list of options for many job-seekers, especially women.

But Eva Ngima, 34, prides herself in being the lead and only female mortician at
Nyeri County Referral Hospital, a large and busy facility in Mt Kenya region.

She is used to the humming freezers, the closing of drawers and the pungent,
sneeze-inducing smell of formalin.

To her, caring for the dead is comforting, and by doing so, she is demystifying the
long held stereotypes and employment norms associated with the male-dominated
career.

Interestingly, the mother of two wanted to be a journalist but was unable to pursue
her studies beyond secondary school.

“But life happened and I ended up working as a cleaner at the hospital,” she said.

Ms Ngima’s passion for her work began when her mother died of breast cancer in
2014. That is when she found her calling to work among the dead. Her desire is to
give the dead the respect they deserve.

“I would view my mother’s body in this mortuary and I did not like the way they
were handling bodies. That is when I decided I wanted to work here and make it
clean,” she said.

At one time after her mother’s death, she applied for the mortician’s job, but was
asked to rethink the decision. Another chance arose in a private hospital in Nyeri,
but she was rejected because of her gender.

I finally got the job

Not one to give up easily, her breakthrough was in the same year. In the interview,
there were 18 men and only two women. Days turned into weeks and months but
she did not give up.

“I had tried to get jobs in different mortuaries, but it was hard. I finally got the job
and I have never looked back,” she told the Nation in an interview.

Her normal routine involves receiving bodies, preserving, preparing them for post-
mortem, cleaning and dressing them up, and finally releasing them to the next-of-
kin for burial. The bodies are from accident victims and patients who die while
undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Ms Ngima’s day starts at 5am as she prepares to take her youngest child to school. When she gets to work around 7.30am, her first duty is to check bills and documents like burial permits and death certificates.

“The process of embalming takes up to an hour depending with the number of
bodies we receive in a day,” she says, adding that she works with three colleagues.

Modern embalming involves treating human remains with chemicals to prevent
decomposition, which leaves bodies suitable for public display during viewings and
funerals. Then cleaning of the rooms starts.

“One of the reasons I wanted this job was because the sanitation of the public
mortuary then, was bad. I always ensure I keep the place clean,” she says.

“Many believe that public mortuaries are very dirty and smelly; that is what I want
to change in the Nyeri mortuary,” Ms Ngima says.

Just like any other job, she says that her work has challenges. Understandably, most
people recoil in fright at her tales on experience with dead bodies. Those known to
her say she was out of her mind to choose the job.

Enough motivation

However, Ms Ngima says her biggest motivation are those who understand that the
job educates her children, feeds her family and pays her bills.

On different occasions, her guests have refused to eat meat in her home, for reasons
known to them, she says. But the support from her children and family is enough
motivation.

Describing herself as prayerful, Ms Ngima says: “I’ve been called names and barred from attending some functions on grounds that I might take there spirits of the dead with me.”

The Family of Brian Kibet Bera are shocked to find out that their kin has made headlines for trying to storm State House with a knife.

“Tomorrow I attack State House,” read part of Brina’s posts. He also indicated that he was fighting for what he termed as ‘land injustice’ in his home area in Trans-Nzoia County. The Facebook account was deactivated yesterday in the afternoon.

His JKUAT classmates claim that when they reached out to him to question his stance based on his Facebook page, they were either blocked or dismissed.

“He was very defensive when we asked him about some of his Facebook posts. At one point he even told me off saying I’m meddling in his life, I should focus on mine and leave him alone,” a student of JKUAT said

The Standard reached out to Brian’s sister, Vivian Bera, a university student in Eldoret, who said, she was among those that he had blocked.

“After blocking me, he never picked my calls. This was after I started questioning why he was making alarming posts,” said Vivian, who insisted that her brother was not a criminal. “He requires psychiatric treatment,” she said.

In his interview with The Standard, Brian’s dad, Victor Bera painted a rosy picture of his first son who he described as a jovial and bright student in primary and secondary school.

The firstborn in a family of six, Brian was among the top students at Kitale School where he scored 407 marks in Class Eight. This earned him a place at Nairobi School where he managed a straight ‘A’ in the KCSE exams.

“In 2016, we started observing changes in him when he was at home. He became withdrawn and started keeping to himself most of the time. He was also suddenly very negative about life and everything,” said Bera.

He realised the son was not well when he was arrested trying to climb Mt Kenya. He was ill-equipped to do so.

“I received a call from the area OCS that my son had been arrested and I should go pick him up from the station. Brian told the rangers who arrested him that he was on his way to the top of Mt Kenya.”

For as long as I would remember, our Migwani, Kitui home was always
full of people who came to see my father. When my father was in the
government, particularly when he was a District Commissioner (DC)
and Provincial Commissioner (PC), people would come to look for him.
What is clear though is that he has always helped people in whatever
capacity he could. Whether it was family members, or family friends or
parents seeking school fees for their children or fixing a badly leaking
roof or getting medical attention, anything…. he would address all
manner of issues. My father lent a listening ear. Where he could help
with his resources, he did. Where he could direct them, he did. So, it was
not surprising that when he was a Member of Parliament, he
championed such things as constituency development fund, pension
payment, among others, so that the public would be empowered in one
way or another.

What aspects of his growing up influenced him into becoming the man he is now?

There was a community feel around my grandfather’s homestead. By
virtue of spending time with my grandparents, I saw first-hand how my
grandfather, Nathan Muli, valued relationships and those values were
passed on to my father.

He has had a long run in politics. How was he like as a father and how did he balance family and work?

The nature of his work made him spend time away from home. When he was director of tourism he had frequent and long trips abroad. The longest was during his three years in Spain at the World Tourism Organisation, but he made visits home. Politics has a bad reputation world over We may have had reservations about my father moving from administrative work that he enjoyed and did really well, to politics. How could he do it and still keep his reputation intact? But the pull of community was strong and they – through my grandfather – persuaded my father to run as an MR Even then, he made sure to be a present father throughout the transition and even after he was successfully elected in 1997 to represent the people of Mwingi.

His son, Francis Musila. PHOTO| COURTESY

What was it like for you as a family?

We did not understand the full intricacies of his moves. When we moved to Nairobi, it was exciting. Finally, I was not a child from shags! I remember visiting my family at InterContinental Hotel during a three-day half term from secondary school. It was the first time I had seen a hotel suite. As a child, we lived in the expansive PC’s residence. I always had a feeling that the house was not ours— it came with the job. When we moved to Nairobi and Loresho, Kiambu the feeling that it was ours was real. It was not a big house or compound, but there I felt I was home. Despite being a PC, my parents were never the extravagant type. It seemed to have been clear what was their money and what was government money. While my father had official cars, we went to school in a humble Suzuki car that my father owned. We led a normal life.

What about your mother?

Growing up, my mother was a primary school teacher. We noticed some time in 1979, she stopped working. We now know they agreed with my father that after my youngest brother was born, she would take care of the four children – Aaron, Ruth, Muli and I. Mum was always there for us during better and worse moments. After we all graduated from university, my mother went back to school, got an undergraduate degree and then a masters! We are all extremely proud of what she was able to achieve. That determination and grit is both in my father and mother.

With his wife Beatrice during her graduation. PHOTO| COURTESY

During his time in politics, how did your parents shield you from what was happening around you?

When we were young, we were not really aware of his ups and downs in
politics. But when we grew up, we supported where we were required.

In the later years, we discussed about his possible retirement, but the
call of community service has always been strong for my father. The
intrigues of our changing political landscape post the new Constitution
convinced him that Kenya needed the wisdom that he and others
brought and that he still had the energy and drive to continue giving. He
still does – but he has accepted to leave behind elective positions and
serve his country in various capacities, such as chair of Museums of
Kenya, Trustee for National Fund for the Disabled, The David Musila
Foundation, educating university students, mentoring politicians and
young people and head of the extended Musila family.

He recently launched his book, Seasons of Hope. Tell us more about the book and what made your father decide to write it.

This is better coming from the author.

His fallout with his longtime friend Kalonzo Musyoka, how messy was it? How is their relationship now?

No comment. How do you spend time as a family now that he has grandchildren?

We share our parents (mum and dad) with the community, especially
the extended family. He has four grandchildren, two boys and two girls,
aged three to 13. It is amazing watching how they relate. My parents
impart history, learning and sense of belonging in them. To respect self
and others. I appreciate the open arm welcome that the children get
when they visit.

What is his opinion on the current political situation in the country especially after the handshake, and Uhuru and Raila working together?

No comment.

What does Musila fear the most? What is his greatest weakness?

He should be in a better position to answer that. What is his life mantra?

How does he manage to keep on going?

For as along as I can remember, my father (and grandfather) abhor laziness. You have to keep yourself busy. Do something. No time for idling around—unless you are on holiday (and oh by the way, we had annual holidays in Mombasa for years, when we could.)

May again here. So last weekend I visited Berlin after two years of staying in Germany, yes you heard right. Two years. Why did it take me that long you ask, because Berlin is 8 ½ hours or about 800km away from where I live by road. It took us 6 ½ hours with the ICE train (fast train) that’s like from Mombasa to Kisumu if you live in Kenya.

Wu Tang Clan

Two months before trip we booked for the hotel together with the return train ticket through a travel agency which was way cheaper around 120 Euro each. There was a big concert called Gods of Rap with rap groups like De la Soul Public Enemy and the biggest of all Wu Tang Clan. Since my boyfriend is a huge fun of Wu Tang Clan (huge is an understatement actually), he would not miss it for the world. I was so excited going to Berlin for the first time.

Parliament : PHOTO | MAY

We woke up really early on the travel day we took the very
first train. We just had taken book a seat to avoid disruptions of changing
seats if someone else had booked the seat. You could book a big legroom, quiet
place, family place or phone place. We even carried some finger foods. It was a
long ride.

After arrival in Berlin we had to try Berliner Döner. Those who don’t know, a Döner is a Turkish food of bread with roasted lamb or chicken meat inside with all kinds of vegetables and sauces. What makes it different is how it’s prepared in Berlin is different than other parts of Germany. And it tasted differently from what I was used to in Freiburg. We ate near the TV Tower which we dint get to climb because the waiting time was 3 hours and we didn’t have the luxury of time.

Where the wall crossed: PHOTO | MAY

We walked to the East Galley which was near the main train station. This was the where the wall of Berlin was and the original is still there. The wall separated the East and the West Berlin during the cold wall. Behold the wall was the Spree River which cuts across Berlin.

Looking at the Berlin Wall | PHOTO | MAY

We went to the concert with we bought a day ticket for 7 Euros for the public transport. It was at a park called Friedlichhain. One was not allowed to get in with any bottle, plastic or otherwise, so you can imagine how the road to the park looked like. Beer and wine bottles on the side of the road. . The concert was great; you just had to wait on line for 20 minutes just to buy beer.

After the concert, we went to a night club called Wild Renate. It opened at midnight Saturday all through to Monday. It never sleeps. And there was an entry fee. Clubs have entry fees here. Because we were given stickers to put on our phones, photography wasn’t allowed.

The next day we went to the Kenyan embassy in Germany to have a look. It was familiar feeling , seeing the Kenyan flag in a foreign country. It felt like home away from home. I didn’t manage to get my Huduma number just yet but it was possible.

Kenyan Embassy in Berlin, Seeing the Kenyan flag in a foreign country, it t felt like home away from home.: PHOTO | MAY

We walked through the Charlie’s Point. This was road block on the border between the earlier east and West Germany. The people from the west were allowed in the east but not the other way round. We also ate the curry sausage and chips which are also prepared differently in Berlin.

Signage showing the Kenyan Embassy in Berlin: PHOTO | MAY

The beauty of the trip was that we left a rainy Freiburg to a sunny Berlin so that felt holiday like and relaxing too. There were points around the city showing where the walls used to pass through. I would love to visit Berlin again, because I just got to see a small part of it. Boat rides and visit museums would be lovely too.

Berlin is a historic city and is different in its own way with the old and the new side of the city standing side by side; it’s truly a city that never sleeps.

Police officers guard a gate to the home of the late Mastermind Tobacco founder Wilfred Murungi during his burial at Kiurani village in Maara constituency on June 11, 2019. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

They guarded the three gates leading to the home, making sure no villager sneaked in to see the body of the man referred to as ‘Master’ descend into the grave.

Two choppers, one carrying the casket and the other the tycoon’s family members and a clergy from Nairobi, touched down at Kiurani Primary School at around 11.10am.

From there, a Mercedes-Benz hearse ferried the body to the home about a kilometre away.

The casket was hurriedly taken out of the chopper and loaded into the hearse by family members including Mr Murungi’s two sons and two daughters.

Curious members of the public were kept at a distance by police officers and local administrators, only seeing the casket that was wrapped with nylon papers through the school’s fence.

Residents of Kiurani village in Maara constituency watch through the fence as the casket containing the remains of Mastermind Tobacco founder Wilfred Murungi is offloaded from a chopper at Kiurani Primary School on June 11, 2019. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Journalists who turned up in large numbers to cover the send-off were also barred from accessing the school and Mr Murungi’s home.

They were only able to take photos of the choppers and the hearse through the school’s fence.

At the home, locals hired to dig the grave were asked to leave and wait outside the gate only to be called back to fill it with soil.

One of the men, who sought anonymity, said that when they returned into the compound, they did not view the casket because the pit had already been half-filled by family members.

One of the police officers guarding the home said no photos were taken during the service and that there were no printed eulogies.

Though the locals were astonished and also angered for being kept off, they acknowledged that Mr Murungi’s wife, Joyce Ithiru Murungi, who died back in 2012 was buried in the same manner.

Only 40 people were allowed to witness the ceremony burial and residents said even Mr Murungi did not attend.

“He landed at the same primary school in a chopper containing the body of his wife, handed it over to his children and the other family members and immediately went back to Nairobi in the chopper,” said Mr James Mutembei, a villager.

Another local said that during the burial of the wife, water was poured on the dusty road from the school to his home and no food was provided.

Members of the Arua clan to which Mr Murungi belonged expressed disappointment after being denied a chance to bury one of their clansmen or to even contribute for the ceremony as traditions dictate.

A local administrator told the Nation that Mr Murungi’s eldest daughter directed that no one should get closer to the casket upon its arrival at the school grounds.

Only 20 people were to attend the burial, going by the number of seats at the venue, but things changed and only about eight people were allowed into the home.

In fact, some relatives, including one of the deceased’s nephews who had driven his mother, were turned away.

“The son has been asked to stay outside with the vehicle and wait for his mother,” said Mr Nicholas Mutegi, a villager.

Dead: Mastermind Tobacco Chairman Wilfred Murungi. [Courtesy]

Mr Murungi worked as an engineer at British American Tobacco (BAT) before quitting and setting up Mastermind Tobacco in the late 1980s – first in Nakuru and then, when the business flourished, in Nairobi.

He had to fight survival wars in the cut-throat tobacco industry, fighting the government, and the BAT, something that could have changed his lifestyle.

Young people in the village who are in their early 30s did not know him in person. They only heard of him and saw his two luxurious homes in Magutuni and Mwiria, both in Maara constituency.

These homes are highly guarded, with one having to pass through four gates before reaching the houses.

Villagers rarely visit the homes since Mr Murungi and his family lived in Nairobi.

The four children are also not known to the locals.

Despite the secrecy, the name Master was known even by the young people because of Mr Murungi’s charity work in the community.

He only used his representatives in the village to attend to social functions in the village.

The tycoon supported almost all the neighbouring schools in putting up infrastructure.

For Kiurani Secondary School , whose board he chaired for many years, Mr Murungi bought a bus and constructed a multipurpose hall that is named after him.

He also supported Igakiramba Secondary School in building a laboratory and paid fees for hundreds of children through his family foundation.

“He made sure all bright children from poor backgrounds continued with their education and employed them in his companies after they graduated,” said Ms Lucy Kaari, a resident.

The tycoon also offered a market for all tobacco grown in the region and always paid promptly.

More than 200 people who have been working at Mr Murungi’s farm in the village do not know their fate following his death.

In fact, some of them started quitting after hearing of his demise though they had gone some months without pay.

Before he died last week, what troubled him most was the impending forced sale of his properties to settle a Sh2.9 billion tax claim demanded by the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Mr Murungi’s Mastermind Tobacco, the makers of the Supermatch brand, had been forced to file a consent in court indicating that the pioneer indigenous cigarette maker in Kenya was willing to dispose of 12 properties in order to raise Sh1.54 billion as partial payment of one of the biggest tax claims against a local entrepreneur. He would do anything to succeed.

It was also reported by his handlers that at the tail-end of his life, Mr Murungi was willing to offload 51 percent of Mastermind shareholding to the global giant Phillip Morris, the makers of Marlboro, hoping to resuscitate his venture.

Although Phillip Morris is a global company, it has a limited African footprint – in South Africa and Senegal. Mr Murungi hoped that he needed such muscle to survive this callous market.

In 2018, a company associated with Mr Murungi was awarded a tender to tarmac the nearly 30km Keeria-Magutuni-Kathwana road at a cost of Sh1.3 billion.

However, the tender was terminated after Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki petitioned Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) complaining of laxity in the work.

According to Mr Mbiuki, a company linked to Mr Murungi was also set to be given a tender for construction of the proposed Maara dam at Sh6.2 billion.

A company associated with him is also working on the Sh300 million Kirumi Kiamujari irrigation project which is also in Maara constituency.

The project is halfway complete.

President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogised Mr Murungi as an industrious and vibrant entrepreneur who made a significant contribution to the growth of the manufacturing sector in Kenya.

In his condolence message to family and friends, President Kenyatta said the country had lost one of its most prominent business leaders.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Mr Murungi. He was a man of great insight and unique leadership qualities. His commitment and determination were his strongest assets,” he said.

“His death leaves a gap that will not be filled, certainly not by these few words of consolation, but we thank God for the time we shared with him, just as we are grateful for the full use he made of it.”

The President further said that Mr Murungi will be missed by many Kenyans, especially those whose lives he positively impacted.

Fans came to know of Jacque Maribe at Citizen TV where she made her brand as the queen of news. Little is known when the cameras are off.

Maribe, who had been named as person of interest in a murder case last year, made headlines with her fiance Jowie, who is still in police custody.

Since she was freed, Maribe has been keeping a low profile but doesn’t fail to attend close friends’ events. Recently, she was spotted at Sam Gituku’s wedding slaying in red as well as attending a colleague’s baby shower.

Now, forget the serious stuff you see in screen, here are Jacque Maribe’s best times while behind the scenes.

Swaleh Mdoe might have found his hobby; dancing. The Swahili news anchor at Citizen TV left his colleagues in stitches when he tried to copy the dancing style in the popular song Tetema by Diamond Platnumz and Rayvanny.

The anchor threw a bash at Citizen TV offices where he shared a cake with his workmates as he celebrated another year.

The Kenyan Community in Western Australia on Saturday raised more than Sh2.5 million (AUD35000) to help bring home the remains of a 34-year-old Kenyan woman who was found dead last week.

The late Nancy Jelagat Cheruiyot’s decomposing body was found in her apartment by police officers during a welfare check.

Ms Cheruiyot had been working as a nurse since she moved to Perth from Kenya two years ago, and had been studying bio-medicine.

Her family filed a report with police after she missed a planned flight to the United States, where she was set to meet her sister.

She was found dead in a top-floor unit in Osbourne Park last Wednesday, days after her family reported her missing.

BURIAL DATE

Speaking to Nairobi News, family spokesperson Gabriel Lagat said that Ms Cheruiyot’s body will arrive in Kenya on Sunday June 16 before it is transported to Uasin Gishu.

“Yes, I can confirm that the Kenyan Community in Australia have raised AUD 35,000 while here in Kenya we have managed to raise Sh800,000 which is enough to bring Nancy home,” said Mr Lagat.

He added that the burial will take place on Wednesday June 19 at Chepkanga in Uasin Gishu County.

According to Mr Lagat, police are yet to arrest anyone in connection to the kin’s murder but he expressed optimism that the family would find justice.

Last week police in Australia said that two cars linked to the murder were discovered and impounded.

DUMPED VEHICLES

Nine News Perth reported that two vehicles – a blue Hyundai Getz Hatchback and a Mitsubishi Coupe – were found Friday dumped at a car wrecking establishment. The cars are linked to the same address where the body was discovered.

Police have said Ms Cheruiyot, sustained injuries that indicated foul play, but have not released details of the nature of the injuries or how she sustained them.

Police said the two cars went missing from the Main Street unit they were registered to, and were, therefore, of major interest to the investigation.

CCTV footage obtained by Nine News Perth reportedly shows a male driver dropping the Hyundai Getz off at about midday on Thursday, before dropping the Mitsubishi Coupe four hours later. He then exits the vehicle, picks up a bag and walks away. Police have since confiscated the vehicles for forensic examination.

Kenyan and British authorities are monitoring forex exchange bureaus to ensure dirty money is not changed into British Pound.

British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey has revealed that investigators from his country are working with their Kenyan counterparts to nip in the bud any attempts to change old notes, acquired through money laundering and corruption, with their Sterling pounds.Kenya is in the process of changing its currency in line with the 2010 Constitution.

The detectives are monitoring foreign exchange outlets to ensure only clean transactions are conducted.“I have spoken with the Treasury. We are keen on those who want to change Kenyan notes into Sterling,” said Mr Hailey.

The move falls in the United Kingdom’s wider scheme to help Kenya in the fight against runaway corruption.

Speaking last week in Nairobi at his residence during Queen Elizabeth II’s 93rd birthday, Hailey said monitoring foreign exchange outlets might lead to arrests of those engaged in graft and money laundering.

The envoy further noted that suspected proceeds of corruption could have been dished out during harambees in the recent past.

“We know there might be some cases of stolen money being contributed in fundraisers. You have seen people producing big bundles of cash. It may or may not be stolen but we have to be careful,” said Hailey during an interview with journalists at his Muthaiga residence.

During the function, attended by Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Macharia Kamau and Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, among others, Hailey also said UK investigators are working with Kenyan agencies to trace and recover stolen money stashed in the UK.

October 1

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has directed that all old Sh1,000 notes be replaced with the new generation notes by October 1 this year.CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge also directed banking institutions to seek clearance from the monetary authority before allowing exchange of notes amounting to over Sh1 million.

The new generation bank notes were unveiled during Madaraka Day celebrations in Narok County on June 1.

Janice Ntinyari, the 25-year-old lover of a slain Meru priest has revealed her last moments with the man of God. The couple began the day in high spirits, completely unaware of the tragedy ahead.

On that Monday afternoon, Father Eutychus Murangiri, 32, drove to their favourite rendezvous in Meru town at around midday where the two met.

On the cards was a promise of a night of revelry that the two had grown accustomed to.

Like many other previous meetings, this one too started with a phone call and the setting up of a date. Janice says the father preferred meeting on Mondays because this was his official day off.

“He would drive from Limbine in Tigania West in his Toyota Camry while I would use public transport from Nkubu for our Meru meetings,” Janice told the Sunday Standard.

The two would cover a combined distance of 70 kilometres every Monday to fall into each other’s embrace.

The return trip would see the father cover a 40km return journey while Janice’s trip would rack up 30 kilometres. This had been going since 2013, when Janice was a 19-year-old college student and the father on his journey to priesthood.

Feeling sleepy

On that fateful Monday though, the Father was in unusually high spirits and even introduced Janice to one of his friends after which the two lovebirds drove to Makutano Town and settled in a bar, setting the tone for the remainder of the day.

Here, a childhood friend, whom Janice identifies as Valentine Kinoti joined them some minutes later at around 1 pm and the friends drunk up to 10 pm.

By this time, she was a bit tired. Perhaps from the trip, the two had made or from the general malaise brought about by her five-month pregnancy.

Sleepy, she left the bar and proceeded to a room she had booked together with Fr Murangiri at the Kinoru Gateway Hotel.

“We were together but l was too tired and l had to go to bed to rest. I asked them to excuse me before l checked to the room,” Ntinyari said.

Fr Eutychus Murangiri, 32 in undated photo. The catholic priest was hacked to death on Tuesday 1.45 am outside a bar he was drinking his his friends. [File, Standard]

But there is a twist to the romance. The pregnancy belongs to another man.

“The man responsible is a teacher I met when l was in Kajiado where my family had set up a new business,” she said. “The priest did not know this was not his child.”

The other man is a teacher from Western currently practising in Embu. About two hours after she had left the bar, Janice was woken up from her slumber by loud banging on her hotel room door. “It was the hotel manager.

He told me that Fr Murangiri had been stabbed,” she says.

She was then told that after having enough for the night, the priest and his friend had left the night club and walked for about 100 metres to a miraa vendor to buy some before parting ways.

According to police reports, it is believed the priest met his killers as he walked back to his car, which he intended to park closer to the guest house.

A guard at the club told police the priest, while bleeding, walked from the direction where his car was parked before collapsing near the door. He told police the priest’s friend rushed to the club after the attack.

Meanwhile, Fr Murangiri’s family has admitted to knowing Kinoti but denied knowledge of any relationship between their kin and Janice.

“I wish to state that my son was not involved with any woman. We do not know her or where she is from,” his father, Domiciano Muthuri said, adding that Fr Murangiri, a second born in a family of six children, was well-behaved and showed interest in priesthood when he was still young and never turned back.

Janice, a hotel manager in Nkubu town, has distanced herself from the killing of the father, saying she is as shocked as anyone else.

Fr Murangiri, an alumnus of Meru School and Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) before joining the seminary, was described as bright, obedient and diligent. Meru Catholic Diocese Spokesman Oreste Murimi said Murangiri will be buried tomorrow at Mujwa Catholic Cemetery.

Some people choose a limousine to carry them from church after wedding. Others prefer to ride on a horse-drawn chariot. Benjamin Makuto and his wife Diana Mulatia chose a solar-powered tricycle.

Being a trike designed to be powered only by electricity with no option of pedalling, the risk of stalling midway and causing embarrassment was all-too-present.

Luckily for the newly-weds, the machine did not disappoint despite Friday having been a cloudy day.

“The batteries have enough power to go the distance,” Mr Makuto, a 26-year-old Electrical Engineering student at the University of Nairobi, told Nairobi News on the eve of the wedding.

Their wedding took place at Harvesters’ Global Church along Kiambu Road and they rode on the trike from the church to Divine Gardens and Resort, the venue for the reception, which is three kilometres away.

Newly-weds Benjamin Makuto (right) and Diana Mulatya leave the Harvesters Global Church on a solar-powered tricycle on June 7, 2019 after their wedding. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG

UNIQUE INVENTION

One of the key men behind the production and testing of the bike was on the wheel as the newly-weds sat on a trailer attached to it.

The bike, assembled at the Strathmore University’s Energy Research Centre, has a flexible solar panel as its roof. The panel charges the four batteries attached to a section of the machine. The batteries power three electric motors that cause motion.

The solar-powered tricycle which Benjamin Makuto and Diana Mulatya rode on after their wedding ceremony at Harvesters’ Global Church along Kiambu Road. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG

Initial tests show that it can travel for up to 50 kilometres in one day, and that its average speed is 35 kilometres per hour.

So, why did Mr Makuto settle on this machine that is yet to be mass-produced?

“I’m a bike enthusiast,” he replied. “We had made one bike (for the event) but it didn’t have the oomph. That’s why we took this,” he said.

He paid Sh5,000 to the parent company of the tricycle for the wedding. According to Mr Robin Denton, a senior official of Solar E Cycles that partnered with Strathmore to make the bikes, this was the first time the company made an income.

“We are making the first income of Sh5,000 as a company, which is not a lot of money to most people said Mr Robin, a South African lawyer-cum-innovator who drove the tri-cycle. “But it is a unique thing we are doing today.”

Robin Denton rides off newly-wed couple Benjamin Makuto and Diana Mulatya from the Harvesters Global Church in Kiambu on June 7, 2019 after their wedding ceremony. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU

WEDDING DAY

The tricycle was put to test late last year when three models were engaged in a journey from Nairobi to Mombasa. The journey began on December 26 and ended on January 13.

They registered impressive results but gave the engineers a lot things to think about to make it a mass-produced model. Mr Robin said they plan to launch the trike in July.

As for the trike used at the wedding, groom was beside himself with joy on the eve of the event, saying that he and his then-fiancée were upbeat about the wedding day.

“I feel nice because it is something I have planned for. You feel good when it comes to fruition,” he said.

The solar-powered tricycle which Benjamin Makuto and Diana Mulatya rode on after their wedding ceremony at Harvesters’ Global Church along Kiambu Road. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG

Mr Makuto also noted that he is an enthusiast of solar-powered vehicles, adding that he has been thinking of a vehicle that can be of assistance to the physically disabled.

“The whole idea is that we can develop things that consume solar energy and avoid fuel,” said the fourth year student who also works part-time.

Kiss 100 presenter, Adelle Onyango, has announced her departure from the radio station to pursue a fresh challenge in life.

Adelle, who has been hosting the station’s breakfast show alongside Shaffie Were for the last seven years, made the announcement on her Instagram page on Friday.

“Yesterday (Saturday) I had my last breakfast show with Kiss FM. It’s been a decision that I did not come to lightly,” said Adelle.

“After seven years (at Kiss), I need a new challenge. Change is the only constant thing in life, and it is through endings that we begin a new. In leaving Kiss I have a whole lot of thoughts,” she further wrote.

The sassy presenter also thanked her fans and colleagues for their support.

“To my coworkers, my bosses. To anyone who tuned in, to TeamADELLE I say thank you! As for the future, I say CHEERS… Here’s to everyone starting a new, here’s to everyone believing, here’s to everyone evolving, here’s to everyone who wants to make a difference, here’s to the unknown, here’s to the darkness and the light, here’s to forgiveness and all that we fight, here’s to the stories that no one knows, here’s to the endings and all the foes, ” Adelle wrote

However, Adelle gave no hints where she is headed to.

Neither has her former employer commented on her departure or her possible replacement.

How far would you go to protect yourself from prostate cancer? For Bishop Gilbert Deya, the answer is simple – cheat on your wife.

Speaking to Standard Digital during an exclusive interview, Deya said he was in England for 15 years and “could not be (sic) without a woman”.But is there a link between one’s sexual health and their chances of getting prostate cancer?

A 2016 European Eurology study showed men who have sexual intercourse frequently are less likely to develop prostate cancer.Deya is not new to controversy.

He made headlines in 2018 over the miracle babiessaga.Now Deya distances himself from the spiritual scam, accused his wife Mary of the tribulations that befell on them, which include stealing children in Mountain View Estate, Nairobi.In May 2018, the ‘Miracle babies’ preacher was granted a Sh10 million bond. Deya is accused of stealing five children.

The trial is ongoing. He spent close to a year at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, but he is now out after a nine-month sojourn following deportation from the United Kingdom.

But Deya says his stay at Kamiti was an act of God.He added that the prison violates basic human rights and should be checked.The buckets inmates are supposed to use when relieving themselves are kept in the same packed cells that hold up to 50 people.

He compared the prisons in Kenya to those in Britain, where each inmate is allocated a cell with a toilet and a computer.“It was traumatising and unhealthy … it was a horrific time,” the preacher said of Kamiti Prison.Improving Kamiti cells by calling for better toilets and improved visiting area was part of Deya’s mission at the prison, he says.But questioned further on why he didn’t mix with other criminals and instead operated from a VIP cell, the preacher said the decision was made by British inspectors.

“Even if I chose to stay with 50 inmates, it would not be proper.”He castigated the media, to a point of threatening to sue, for reporting that he has been charged with child trafficking.

Deya is accused of stealing five children.On the matter of stolen children, Deya said only his wife knows if he fathered the children.

One of the children listed as stolen was born while he was out of the country. He says he knows little about whether they were stolen.So were they miracle babies?

“There are miracles…To me Gilbert Deya as a person, excluding my wife, I have never done a miracle beyond the medical people (sic). The women who claim got children … that was the work of my wife, I was not in the country.”

Deya added that his wife may have cheated on him while he was out of the country, conceived and gave birth.

“The way it happened I cannot explain … the worst part is that the parents of the baby (whom the wife is suspected of stealing) were not found.”

Deya and his wife are no longer together.One would question how a pastor who left his wife would counsel couples.But Deya says even Apostle Paul from the Bible had no wife yet he advised faithful on marriage.

He said Christians are wrong to judge clerics on their marital status. Anyone who does so is “primitive”.“Are people going to talk about my marriage affairs? They shouldn’t. Jesus never married anyone.”

Archbishop Deya purports to enjoy more following in West Africa and contemplates setting up his African headquarters in Nigeria once he is done with his case.